VW's Piech isolated after CEO slight

April 13, 2015 3:26 PM

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FRANKFURT, Germany — Ferdinand Piech, a grandson of the creator of the VW Beetle and patriarch of the German automaker for more than two decades, is losing his grip on Volkswagen two years before his last term as chairman ends.

Piech, 77, has found himself increasingly isolated after his hostile comments toward Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn were quickly blunted by other power players at the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company. The rebuttal may mark the beginning of the end of an era at Europe's biggest carmaker.